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Catamount Arts is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors comprised of arts enthusiasts from all cross- sections of the local community (teachers, doctors, photographers, administrators, musicians, parents, realtors, seniors, bankers, painters, lawyers, psychologists, students, engineers, etc). This passionate group of individuals works countless hours to fulfill Catamount’s mission to inspire appreciation of and participation in the arts, promote the arts throughout the region, and cultivate the arts as an integral part of community life. Our Vision is to be a vibrant and sustainable Arts institution, serving as an essential force in the Arts for individuals, organizations and communities throughout the region.

TO VIEW A BOARD MEMBER PROFILE, CLICK ON A NAME BELOW

Janet Warner Ashley, President

Janet Warner-Ashley is an actor, director, choreographer and mime performer who loves to teach acting, dance, public speaking and mime.  Her BFA is from the University of Rhode Island where she majored in Theatre Performance with unofficial minor concentrations in dance and oral interpretation.  She got her MA in Theatre from the University of Maine where she taught acting, dance and enjoyed directing and choreographing shows and collaborations with the music department.  Janet has been married for 40 years to Brad Ashley, former teacher and headmaster but current CEO of Kingdom Development Company and they have two sons, Eamon and Charlie of whom they are extremely proud.  Currently, Janet is teaching acting, public speaking and ballet at St. Johnsbury Academy where she was first drama director in 1980, then left to run her dance studio in St. J.  She and Brad moved to Maine for eight years and then to Wisconsin for 8 years but have been back in St. J. for the last 9 years in their same house.

Heather Alger, Vice-President

Heather has spent the last twenty years working with nonprofits building a culture of equity in each of the communities where she has served whether it is through direct service, placement, grant management, policy change, economics, or the arts. She has a MA in public policy from Tufts University. Heather currently is working on a goal of hiking the 48 of the New Hampshire 4000’s. She also enjoys biking, farming, skiing, skating, working on her old house, singing and spending time with her husband, Nick and daughter, Gabrielle. Heather lives in St. Johnsbury.

Arcelie Reyes, Secretary

Minty Conant, Treasurer

Minty Conant is a business finance and management consultant who holds a degree in accounting from Lyndon State College and an MBA from Plymouth State University.

Timothy Egan

A specialist in broadcast and web based video content services, marketing, and media affairs, Tim Egan is part time faculty at both Lyndon and Johnson State College in Vermont. He’s also CMO and Executive Producer for Moody Street TV in Waltham, MA, as well a principal at Sugar Hill Associates in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire where he also lives with his wife and daughter.

Bobby Farlice-Rubio

Bobby Farlice-Rubio is a science and culture educator with more than two decades of teaching experience working in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Mr. Farlice-Rubio may be seen in his monthly “Star Struck” segments on Channel 3 WCAX-TV’s 6:30pm news show, on which he presents the latest happenings in the field of Astronomy. During his 18- year tenure at St. Johnsbury’s Fairbanks Museum, Bobby was the teacher for the Guinness World Record: “Largest Astronomy Lesson.” Raised in Hialeah, Florida from Cuban and African-American roots, Bobby is also an avid musician who plays in a local band called Tritium Well, as well as his solo musical endeavor, Bobby & The Isotopes. He currently resides in Barnet, Vermont with his partner and their three children, three horses, and three dogs.

Maire Folan

Maire is the program manager for Green Mountain Farm to School in Newport VT. She hires, trains, and manages a team of AmeriCorps members who provide Northeast Kingdom students with access to food and agriculture education and healthy local food. She is also the consulting dietitian for the Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging, ensuring seniors receive nutritionally balanced meals and information they need to lead healthy lives. On winter weekends she is a ski instructor at Jay Peak. Maire grew up in New Hampshire and moved to northern NEK in 2014. She became active with the Northeast Kingdom Young Professionals Network and served as chair from 2017-2021. She holds a bachelors in biology and nutrition and a masters in sustainable food systems.

Stephen Genereaux

Dr. Stephen Genereaux is a family medicine doctor in Wells River, Vermont and is affiliated with Cottage Hospital. He received his medical degree from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Tom Howell

Tom has a B.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Connecticut and an M.F.A (Sculpture) from Massachusetts College of Art. During his career he has worked in the fields of art, education, and entrepreneurship. At MassArt, Tom was part of the arts collective “The Revolving Museum” in Boston’s Fort Point District. Then, as the Resident Artist in Adams House at Harvard University, Tom oversaw the “ArtSpace” gallery, serving a wide cross-section of the university and local arts communities by directing installations, exhibits, and events. Tom taught sculpture and painting, and helped to coordinate the College’s Freshman Arts program. Finally, he conceived and managed multiple social entrepreneurship projects that connected the university’s sustainability and recycling resources with primary schools in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Namibia.  He and his family are new to St. Johnsbury, and eager to be involved in the life of the community here. Tom’s son Ethan (18) and daughter Maggie (15) are both students at St. Johnsbury Academy.

Kristen Huntington

Kristen Huntington graduated with a BA in Art History from St. Lawrence University and worked in publishing in NYC at Random House, Inc. in NYC. In 2004 she received her Master’s Degree in Arts in Education from St. Michael’s College and is now the K-12 art and drama teacher in Concord, Vermont. She lives with her husband Tom and their three children in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

Josh Kantrowitz

Prior to joining NVRH St. Johnsbury Pediatrics in 2009, Dr. Josh Kantrowitz was a Clinical Instructor at Dartmouth College and Chief Resident in Pediatrics at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics. A graduate of Harvard College and Boston University Medical School, Dr. Kantrowitz lives with his wife photographer Cornelia Hasenfuss and their two children in Peacham, Vermont.

Rebecca McGregor

Rebecca McGregor has a Secondary License in Dance, a BS in Exercise Science, and a Masters in Education. In 2003, she developed the dance program at Lyndon Institute and founded the annual Vermont State Dance Festival. She also helps the VT Agency of Education develop and rewrite VT dance standards and licensing requirements, assessment tools in dance education, and advocate for arts education. Rebecca is a member of SHAPE and the NDEO. She was a mentor through the NDEO’s pilot mentoring program and now is a member of the NDEO Mentoring Committee. She also has given presentations for Northeastern University’s NExT Professional Learning Conversations and been chosen as an adjudicator for the NDEO’s National Honor Society for Dance Arts Award. Rebecca has received awards like Johnson State College Rising Star/Young Alumni Award, Youth Impact Award, VAHPERD’s Dance Educator of the Year Award, and David Dwyer Lyndon Institute Teacher of the Year Award. In 2020, Rebecca also was awarded a Presidential Award from the National Dance Education Organization for her service to the Mentorship Committee and work creating and pursuing a vision for dance education in our country. Most recently, Rebecca graduated as a member of the Vermont Leadership Institute Class of 2022 at the Snelling Center for Government and was honored by the National Dance Education Organization with the Outstanding Leadership in k12 Dance Award.

Celia Jackmauh

Paula Scavullo Kitchel

An ardent supporter of the arts, Paula Scavullo Kitchel holds an M. Ed in Education from the University of Vermont and worked as a special educator and school administrator prior to her retirement. She lives in Barnet, Vermont.

Shawntel Sechrist

Shawntel is from a small town in North Carolina. Her interests in science, problem solving and animals led her to NC State University. There she earned undergraduate degrees as well as a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Shawntel first visited Vermont with college friends while still a teenager. She had never before seen so much snow, nor had met people as genuinely kind and authentically themselves. Through the years she continued to visit these new friends, and in 2009 decided to move to Cabot. She worked at St Johnsbury Animal Hospital, which provided the opportunity to get to know many of the people in the area. Recently she opened her own veterinary hospital in Lyndonville, the NEK Community Animal Hospital. In 2014 Shawntel had a son. Her family now lives in Kirby. She is grateful to be able to raise her child in a small community filled with the same kindness that initially drew her to Vermont. Shawntel enjoys exploring the woods with her family. She day dreams of travel and hopes to find time to learn to play some of the stringed instruments in her home.

Macie Mawhinney, Student Representative